1 March 2010

Audi is solidifying its e-mobility strategy and filling out its hybrid and electric drive portfolio offerings. In late 2010/early 2011 a Q5 hybrid will reach the market, the first new production Audi with a combination of gasoline engine and electric motor.

In Geneva, Audi is debuting an A8 hybrid concept car, with CO2 emissions of 144 g/km (232 g/mile). Another world premiere in Geneva is the A1 e-tron—a extended range electric vehicle (EREV) design study. At the end of 2012 Audi will launch the e-tron electric car that was seen last year at the Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA). (Earlier post.) A small series will be built, and will be the first Audi electric car to reach the market.

In future our customers will be able to choose from an increasingly broad range of driveline technologies. To accompany our high-efficiency TDI and FSI engines, we shall offer electric power in the best possible forms for a wide range of mobility needs. The hybrid driveline will be followed by all-electric vehicles.” The “e-tron” name will have an important part to play. “Just as “quattro” has become a synonym for all-wheel drive, so “e-tron” is to be the Audi brand name for electric mobility.

—Rupert Stadler, Chairman of the Board of Management of Audi AG

When developing alternative drivelines, Audi is pursuing a strategy of introducing each technology where it is appropriate for specific model lines and markets.

We regard the full hybrid as we know it today primarily as a very specific technology for reducing fuel consumption. In due course plug-in hybrids will demonstrate their strong points when drivers expect to cover longer distances in the pure electric mode, in combination with a conventional engine. The strength of the electric car clearly lies in the urban mobility area, where the demand for emission-free local transportation will strongly increase. In addition to hybrids and electric cars, Audi continues to develop its long-term competence in the development of basic propulsion concepts using fuel cells and hydrogen as an energy carrier.

—Michael Dick, Member of the Board of Management for Technical Development at Audi AG.

Audi is grouping its various electric-mobility activities together within its “ e-performance project house”. Since the autumn of 2009 a team has been at work on the research project of the same name, with support from the Federal German Ministry for Education and Research. Members of the team, consisting of Audi AG development staff and scientists from various universities, are working on the development of a new overall electric vehicle concept, including the body, battery and power electronics.

A1 e-tron. The A1 e-tron design study is electrically propelled and has a range of more than 50 kilometers (31 miles) in city traffic. Peak power output is 75 kW (102 hp).

The A1 etron uses a compact “range extender” consisting of a single-rotor Wankel engine and an electrical generator with a charge rating of up to 15 kW.
This device gives the A1 e-tron an additional range of 200 kilometers (124 miles).

According to the draft standard for determining the fuel consumption of range-extender vehicles, the mean fuel consumption is 1.9 liters per 100 kilometers (1248 mpg US), equivalent to CO2 emissions of 45 g/km (72.42 g/mile).

Audi A8 hybrid. Audi is displaying the A8 hybrid as an engineering study at the Geneva Motor Show. Its two power units—the 2.0 TFSI engine and the electric motor—have a combined output of 180 kW (245 hp) and a torque of 480 N·m (354 lb-ft). Combined they give the car the same performance as a large-capacity conventional six-cylinder engine. Average fuel consumption is 6.2 L/100 km (38 mpg US), equivalent to CO2 emissions of 144 g/km (232 g/mile).

The Audi A8 hybrid uses a parallel hybrid configuration. The electric motor integrated between the 155 kW (211 hp) four-cylinder gasoline engine and the eight-speed tiptronic transmission can supply a further 33 kW (45 hp) to the driveline, as well as 211 N·m (156 lb-ft) of torque.

The A8 design study is a full hybrid, that is to say the gasoline engine or the electric motor can propel it either separately or together. In the pure electric drive mode the car can reach 65 km/h (40 mph) and cover a distance of more than two kilometers (1.2 miles).